


Sunset Motel

by allthetrek



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:29:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29647884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthetrek/pseuds/allthetrek
Summary: Post Mikoshi ending, V is trying to put her life back together. She runs a job out in the desert, then finds herself at the Sunset Motel, wanting some company from her favorite person...Warnings: Slight spoilers for Flying Drugs side-gig. Slight Mikoshi ending spoilers. Language/profanity. Sexual content.Pairing: River Ward x reader as female V
Relationships: River Ward/You, V/River Ward
Comments: 26
Kudos: 28





	1. Silica and Despair

“The contract is closed. And closed well.” Dakota’s voice cut off as she terminated the call. You took a deep breath and started to make your way to your ride, strategically parked a ways off from the transmission station. You walked slowly, your breathing starting to normalize, the adrenaline in your system winding down now that the threat had been neutralized…

Neutralized was an understatement. A trail of Wraiths lay in your wake, the evening rays of sun glinting off the shell casings that littered the ground of the compound. Just another day in the life of a merc. But damn, were you getting tired… Tired of putting your life on the line, doin’ someone else’s dirty work. Sometimes, it just didn’t seem worth the eddies… Not these days… Not since Jackie…

The image of your old choom flashed through your mind as you made your way over the sun-baked terrain, his voice echoing in the chamber of your mind, as clear as the last day you’d spent with him… “This is it, V! The major leagues!” A pang of sorrow cascaded through you, and you shook your head, trying to avoid going down the same thought-spiral you always seemed to end up in…

The one that started with why the hell didn’t you stop the whole ‘Saka Tower mess from ever happening. Gig was bad news from the start, you knew it, Jack knew it… But he was determined. You both were, and you were a fucking leadhead back then, thinking you could be a legend in this town and live to tell the tale. What a sick twist of fate, that ever since Jackie had died, your holo was lighting up with gigs you never could have dreamed of just a few months ago…

A gust of wind blew a cloud of fine desert dust up around you, snapping you out of your dismal thoughts. The lingering smell of gunpowder and singed metal in your nostrils was replaced by the signature scent of the SoCal desert: earthy, sun-scorched silica, and despair…

*** 

The headlights on your ride were just starting to draw dusty trails in the dusk air as you pulled into what was now a familiar go-between for you: the Sunset Motel. You’d been running more jobs in the desert lately, and this run-down shithole was becoming far too familiar to you. You weren’t sure why exactly you were drawn out here lately… Dakota always had work for you, and most of it was meaningful enough. Put down a few more shit-stain Wraiths before they stripped the chrome off some unwitting travellers in the area. Or worse. You fucking hated gangers.

Your mind moved again to your dear departed choom, as you boots echoed on the metal steps of the motel, pulling you on autopilot toward the bar… Maybe it was just nice to get out of the city lately. The quiet, the open spaces, no skyscrapers in the way of the endless view of rusted out wind turbines and sand dunes that all looked exactly alike. In the city, everything reminded you of Jackie. Every bar you’d ever haunted, every street you’d ever driven together, every moment spent with the best goddamn friend you could have asked for.

It wasn’t like that out here. Nothing to remind you of Jackie, yet everything still reminded you of him. Because he wasn’t there, beside you. His absence was absolutely impossible to ignore. And it fucking haunted you.

“The usual?” the bartender asked, his weary, familiar features jarring you from yet another trip into your grief-stricken state. Guess you’d been here often enough to become a regular. Wasn’t that just the icing on this shitty day.

“Uh-huh,” you replied in a monotone, turning to the beat-up vending machine as he served up your beverage. You jabbed the button on the machine and watched the eddies transfer out of your personal account via your optics. Your foil-wrapped, lukewarm dinner slid from the dispenser, and you grabbed it and your drink and headed to your usual spot, the back booth by the window.

Place seemed pretty dead, and you were happy to eat your mediocre dinner in pitiful silence as the same news stories you’d been hearing all day echoed from the radio on the bar. None of them made it to your awareness though. Your mind was miles away… Fixated on all the things you’d been avoiding, pushing to the edge of your subconscious, so that you didn’t have to face them, yet you were never free of them either…

You finished eating, washing it down with the rest of your drink. You pushed away the pile of foil and napkins in front of you, resting your elbows on the worn surface, and glanced at the timestamp on your optics. Almost 9pm. Were you going to punish yourself further by spending the night here? You sighed, wondering why you did it… Why you pushed everyone away who obviously cared for you. You were wallowing, drowning in grief, from Jackie, Johnny, Mikoshi, everything that had happened…

You’d gotten your life back. Well, you weren’t actively dying now, anyway. But your life, from before… Blown to fucking pieces. And here you were, looking for those pieces, the shrapnel that once was your life, in the fucking desert. Alone. Miserable. Why? What was the point?

You hadn’t talked to River all day. He’d been giving you the space you needed to heal, to recover. But he could see you weren’t doing well. Anyone could. So you were avoiding them. River, Vik, Misty, Pan… Anyone who had the gall to fucking care about you. They deserved better. Better than you…

“Stop it,” you thought, shaking your head again, trying to push away the self-deprecating thoughts that kept coming in waves. You were spiralling. Your chest tightened as you thought of River. Your sweet, loyal boyfriend, who only wanted to help you, support you, love you. And here you were barely speaking to him.

You got up from the booth, ambling wearily out the door of the bar to lean on the metal railing outside. You took a few deep breaths, grounding yourself, trying to remember how you used to get through shit days like this one. You felt like you were so much more resilient before. These days, you feared you were losing your edge. Or that Johnny gave you that edge. You still weren’t sure where your personality had stopped and he had started. Or what remained of him in you now. Or what you might have lost when your neural nets were disentangled…

It certainly felt like you’d lost something. He’d become a part of you. You weren’t sure how to get over this, through this… No one else on the whole damn planet had been through the hell you’d lived. That you’d survived. There was no “how-to” on this one. No map to follow. But you knew in your heart, that you couldn’t do it alone…

The last rays of evening sun trailed across your optics, and you squinted slightly so that they dispersed into mesmerizing, multi-colored halos. You felt the breeze on your skin, cooling degree by degree as the sun slipped below the horizon. It felt good. For a moment, you felt good…

You leaned on the railing and brought up River in your holo contacts, calling him before you changed your mind… You needed him… So badly… But damn was it hard to admit that to yourself…

“Hey, V. Everything alright?” his deep voice cascaded across your eardrums and your heart skipped a beat. You knew how badly you needed his company tonight.

“Hey, Riv. Yeah, everything’s good. Real good. I’m… Not catching you at a bad time, am I?” you asked, hearing what could only be his niece and nephew bickering in the background.

River chuckled and you watched his surroundings shift around him as he walked outside Joss’s trailer and sat on the metal steps of the porch. “Nah, Joss’s just putting the kids to bed. They don’t wanna go,” he explained, his tone light and amused, and your heart twinged again.

“Listen, Riv… Any chance you’re free tonight? I mean, if not, it’s okay, I…” you stammered, but he cut you off. “For you, V. I’m always free. What did you have in mind?”

You smiled at him over the holo, and he beamed back at you. “I’m at the Sunset Motel, not far away… Meet me for a drink?” you proposed, giving him your best enticing smile, though he hardly needed convincing.

“Be there in a jiff,” he replied, and soon you were gazing out at the darkening landscape, your fingers tracing absentmindedly over the tarnished metal railing, as you waited for the man you loved to come ease your troubled mind…


	2. Cold Drinks, Warm Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River meets V at the Sunset Motel for a drink. Things are looking up for V.
> 
> Warnings: Slight spoilers for Flying Drugs side-gig. Language/profanity. Mentions of sexual content.

The golden glow of Sunset’s neon signs illuminated the parking lot as River pulled up in his Thorton, parking purposefully beside your wheels. He got out, glancing up at the bar on the second level, his face a picture of contentment as he imagined the beautiful woman waiting for him inside.

He never could have imagined that this would be his life, his future. A few months ago, when he’d gotten a call from the (in)famous merc who just went by “V”. When you’d walked up to his table at Chubby Buffalo’s, a vision of beauty and grit, of sarcasm and wit. He’d heard the stories about you, of course. Multiple police assists, intercepted assaults… You’d saved peoples’ lives, including people he knew on the force. You were an enigma, one in a million. And by some stroke of luck, you were his.

You hadn’t met many people like River, either. He was intuitive, perceptive, and his own experience in the school of hard knocks allowed him to see the same pain and heartache in others that he knew all too well. He saw it in you right away, and you knew it. You felt like he could see right into you, right through your tough exterior, and at first it had made you uneasy. But in time, as you’d gotten to know him, his history, his character, it felt good. It felt good to be seen.

River made it to the landing, taking his time as he walked by the window, seeing you sitting there, facing the entrance, drink in hand, a far-off look in your eyes. He was glad you’d called him. He’d been thinking about you all day. Wondering where you were, if you were okay… He worried about you. But he was determined to give you space. To not fuck this up. Even if, in his own mind, he was already planning out your future together… You’d get there, on your own terms, and he was okay with that.

River slid into the booth, sitting opposite you. “Hey,” you said, coming out of your thoughts and smiling warmly at him, and he beamed back at you. “Hey, V.”

You raised your hand to the bartender, two fingers indicating two more, and he nodded in acknowledgement.

“So… What brings you out here?” River asked, half-expecting a smart-ass answer from you, or something vague, as he was used to when your work came up. Not that he minded.

You gave him a weak smile and sighed, easing slightly into the shabby leather of the booth. Just seeing River, hearing his voice, the way he looked at you… Your walls were starting to come down…

“Was runnin’ a job for Dakota… Wraiths were transmitting a virus, I took out their antenna,” you explained briefly, not feeling you had to hide your current ministrations from him. River knew the things you did as a merc, and he knew you had a code. That you did a hell of a lot more good in the world than most people he’d ever met. And he loved you for it.

The more River showed you that you could open up to him, that he wouldn’t judge you, the more you did, slowly. And he opened up to you in turn. About his past, growing up, relationships, the force… He’d been through a lot. You both had. You were both pretty fucked up. And now, you were fucked up together. And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Oh? Bet they didn’t like that,” River grinned, moving his hands out of the way as the bartender appeared beside your table, placing a cold one in front of you and then River. He removed your empty and plodded back to the bar. You still didn’t know his name, the bartender. You never asked, and he never offered, and that’s how you preferred it, in places like this anyway. You were used to dives. Felt more at home in them than any stuck-up, overpriced club or lounge in NC, that was for sure.

“Hmmm, didn’t hear any complaints as I was leavin’,” you joked back, grinning at him and feeling the dark cloud that had been lingering over you all day start to dissipate.

“Was there anyone left to complain…?” River quipped back, and you shrugged, taking a drink instead of answering his question.

River’s expression became slightly more serious, and he offered his ‘ganic hand out across the table to you. You put your hand in his, watching his fingers close around yours, and feeling yourself relax a little more.

“You okay, V?” River asked lightly, trying to hide the concern in his tone, but you picked it up. You looked at him, your eyes searching his hazel one, taking in his expression, the one that looked like he wanted to scoop you up in his arms and never let go.

“Yeah… Yeah, I am now…,” you replied, smiling feebly at him, your other hand coming to rest around your entangled hands on the table. You stared at his hand for a moment, and he let you, wondering what was really going on inside your head, but knowing not to push you.

Instead, your conversation turned to more lighthearted banter, River telling you about the lease agreement he’d just signed for his PI office in the city. “River, that’s amazing! M’really happy for you!” you gushed, genuinely thrilled that he was following his passion for detective work and helping others, and your mind began to turn over all the ideas you had to help him get established… You knew all the fixers in town, after all, and a whole lotta people owed you a whole lotta favors…

River beamed at your enthusiasm for his efforts, and the two of you kept drinking and talking, the minutes ebbing by…

*** 

You downed the last dregs of your drink, then placed it back on the table, pushing it pointedly to the side as you leaned forward and gave River a playful stare-down. “So… You wanna get out of here?” you asked, your voice laced with mischief, and he grinned back at you, searching your expression for what kind of “get out of here” you had in mind. It didn’t take much searching. There was no mistaking that look…

“Don’t have to ask me twice,” he replied, shifting in the booth, leaning closer to you, his elbows resting on the scuffed surface of the table. “What did you have in mind?”

You chewed your bottom lip for a moment, studying him, considering the options. You could head back to River’s place. Have quiet, subdued sex again, knowing you weren’t alone in the trailer… It was still good, obviously. But not what you really wanted, needed, tonight…

“V…?” River asked again, seeing your eyes darkening, still chewing your lip absentmindedly, your mind already cycling through the events that were undoubtedly about to unfold, and he could see your wheels turning. And it was turning him on…

You got up from the booth, without a word to him, just a wry smile that left him wanting so much more, and walked over to the barkeep. River got up, close behind you, listening as you made the transaction, renting a room for the night. “One-oh-two, your usual,” the man stated, flicking you the authorization, which streamed across your optics for a moment.

River gave you a side-eye, wondering just how often you’d been coming here, based on your rapport with the innkeeper and your apparent “usual” accommodations. He certainly wasn’t about to ask questions, though. Not when he was about to have his way with you, no distractions, just you and him and all the ideas that had been percolating in his dirty mind since you were last in his bed…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read/liked/commented on my work! Really means the world to me and keeps me motivated!
> 
> Next chapters planned are: motel smut, comforting bedtime back at the trailer, steamy morning after, then V is off to work again!


	3. Room One-Oh-Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River and V get a room at the Sunset Motel. Smut happens.
> 
> WARNINGS: Explicit content, rough sex, language/profanity.

Moments later, two pairs of boots were clamoring down the metal stairway of the Sunset Motel… As yours hit the asphalt of the parking lot, River’s hand found yours and he led you along the pathway under the landing, your peripheral vision picking up glimpses of a mostly barren parking lot, and a clear, onyx sky above.

You passed by the room numbers, 105, 104, 103… Ignoring the trash heap nestled between them, piled high with refuse, the smell of decay wafting off it on the evening breeze. You weren’t here for the scenery. This wasn’t some swanky corpo hotel. You knew exactly the kind of decrepit dive this place was, and it served it’s purpose. For you, and whatever other haunted, dejected, or debaucherous patrons frequented it on this particular night.

You opened the door to 102, the paint-chipped slab of metal sliding to the side, and two pairs of boots made their way over the threshold. The lingering smell of heavy disinfectant made its way to your senses, the room having been seemingly doused in bleach after its last occupancy. Or maybe ol’ no-name had given it an extra dousing, just for you. Perks of being a regular, right?

River closed the door and took a glance around the room, his law enforcement background automatically asserting itself as he took in his surroundings. A double bed took up most of the interior, complete with sheets that, even in the near-dark, he could tell hadn’t been any shade close to white in years.

Streams of neon light filtered in through large gaps in the metal slat blinds, casting shadows all around the suite. Neither of you dared to look at the ancient carpet underfoot, and it was unspoken that your boots would remain on for the duration. No matter, there was plenty of trouble you could get into, boots or no.

You turned to face River, studying his shadowed features for a moment, and he took you in as well. The way the streams of dim, golden neon drew strips across your form, leaving some parts of you in vivid, beautiful detail, and other parts completely dark and in shadow. River stepped closer to you, his hands gripping at your waist, pulling you into him roughly as his lips descended onto yours.

You met him in a longing, intense kiss, that deepened with every moment, the two of you heating up for each other, full of lust, of need. River’s tongue grazed along your lower lip and you opened your mouth to him, his tongue breaching your lips, exploring you with fervor. A light moan escaped you, echoing through River, his body responding to your enthusiasm, and you felt him growing hard against you.

You pulled away from him, biting your lip and staring lustfully into his eyes as you ran your hand down his chest and abdomen, feeling his toned abs rippling beneath the fabric of his t-shirt. His grip on you tightened as you made your way further down, your fingers and palm grazing over his clothed erection, and you stroked him through his pants. River let out an exhale of approval, enjoying the feeling of you pleasuring him for a few moments, before he took control, his hand coming to grip your wrist, his other hand still on your hip as he walked into you, guiding you backward, until the backs of your knees hit the edge of the bed.

River stared you down as he stripped your jacket off, tossing it onto the bed behind you, a barrier between you and the questionable sheets, you presumed. His hands came to your sides, and your felt his fingertips move along your hips, grazing up your lower back, then underneath your tank top, a contrast between calloused fingertips and smooth, cool metal. He unclasped your bra, then pulled it up and over your head with your top, tossing them onto the bed as well.

River wasted no time, his hands coming to cup your breasts, and you gasped at the cool metal of his chrome digits on your bare skin, your nipples hardening in unison at the cold contact. River rolled your nipple between the thumb and index finger of his ‘ganic hand, loving the feeling your hard nipple beneath his fingertips.

River’s hands travelled down your abdomen, landing on the waist of your pants, and he undid them, sliding them down your hips, along with your panties, stopping just above your knees. You felt the fingers of his ‘ganic hand press between your legs, into your folds, and he applied the most incredible strokes of pressure, grazing over your clit, over and over, and you widened your stance a bit, exposing yourself more to him.

You closed your eyes as he pleasured you, your hands resting on his outer arms for stability. River watched you in the dim lighting, the streaks of neon light illuminating the look of concentrated pleasure on your beautiful face. You were an absolute vision to him.

“So wet for me,” he growled, and you opened your eyes to see him looking you over, his expression hungry, commanding… You started to reach your hand down toward his belt, but his chrome hand stopped you, again gripping your wrist. River’s other hand left your folds, coming to your waist and he spun you around so you were facing the bed.

River’s chrome hand gripped your waist, sending goosebumps over your bare skin, while his other hand was at your shoulder, holding you in place while he kissed and sucked along your neck. His breath was hot on your skin, his breathing heavy in your ear, and you began to ache for him to be inside you.

As if he could read you, River growled in your ear. “You want me to fuck you, like a cheap motel whore? Is that what you fucking want?” His voice was low, gravely, and downright dangerous…

“Yes… Please…” you breathed in response, and seconds later your pants were down around your ankles, and you were being pushed onto the bed, your knees resting on the edge of the mattress, your torso and face pressed into the pile of your clothes. River stood behind you, staring at your ass in the air in front of him, your pussy bared and ready to take him, your folds glistening in the neon slivers that cascaded from the window.

You heard him unbuckle his belt, the unmistakable sound of metal on metal, and you bit your lip in anticipation. Without warning, the open palm of River’s ‘ganic hand made harsh contact with your ass. *Smack!* You gasped at the sudden contact, the sting, the heat of it flooding over your skin. *Smack!* Again, River spanked you, then you felt the cool metal of his other hand on your ass cheek, spreading you as he guided his tip to your entrance.

He could tell how ready you were for him, slick and warm and just begging to be fucked. You felt him press his hard, thick cock into you, stretching you out more with every thrust, in and out, working his way in until he was fully sheathed in your tight pussy. Soon, the room was filled with the sound of his pelvis slapping into your wet pussy, River grunting with concentration, holding off his own release until he’d brought you yours. Moans of ecstasy escaped your lips, stifled as your face lay half-buried in your jacket.

You moaned into the fabric, craving release, and you reached one hand down between your thighs, your fingertips starting to urgently work your clit as River fucked you, punished you, and brought you closer…

River’s low, breathy tone broke through the sound of fucking and moaning. “Are you going to cum for me? Like a fucking whore?” he taunted you, and it was all you needed to climax, your walls contracting around his ample cock, and you moaned loudly into the bed, riding out your orgasm as he slowed his thrusts, drawing out your pleasure.

When you seemed to have finished, River upped his pace, his hips slamming into you, his hands gripping roughly into the flesh of your hips, so close to his own release. He shuddered into you, letting out a single, urgent moan, and you felt his cock twitch inside you.

River held himself inside you for a moment, his breathing ragged. Finally, he pulled out of you, and you carefully backed off of the bed, pulling your pants back up to your thighs as you turned toward the bathroom, feeling River’s hands graze appreciatively over your back as you shuffled your way through the dingy room in the near-dark.

You entered the bathroom, turning on the light, which flickered on harshly and you squinted and adjusted your optics to compensate. You cleaned yourself up, then went back out to join River. You could feel his eyes trail approvingly over your topless form as you grabbed your clothes off the bed and dressed. Once you’d donned your jacket, River let out a sigh of relief.

“What…?” you asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. River’s grin became apparent in the dim neon lighting. “Was afraid you wanted to spend the night here,” he confessed, and you couldn’t help but laugh. The place was fucking disgusting.

“Fuck no!” you replied, as River opened the door and beckoned you out in front of him. You obliged, exiting the motel room, the cool night air hitting your face, and the two of you walked hand in hand across the parking lot.

You glanced up as you walked, noting the smattering of stars now twinkling on the ebony backdrop. There wasn’t another soul in sight, just you and River and the nocturnal desert, at this strange waystation between civilization and desolation. Between your past and your future. And for the first time in a long time, it wasn’t your past that was walking beside you, it was your future.


	4. A Really Good Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V spends the night at the trailer with River.
> 
> WARNINGS: Language/profanity, sexual content.

“Ride with me?” River asked, and it didn’t take much convincing on your part, tired as you were.

“Yeah, thanks,” you replied, smiling at him as your hands disentangled and you opened the door to his Thorton, the familiar smell of synth-pine air freshener and dust filling your senses. You buckled your seatbelt as River got in beside you. You’d pick up your wheels tomorrow. Tonight, you didn’t feel like parting from River’s comforting presence, not even for a minute.

The engine roared to life, and you yawned sleepily as the truck pulled out of the motel parking lot, headed west on the I9. It was a short drive, but you couldn’t help but close your eyes, resting your head against your hand, elbow on the window ledge. Cool air streamed toward you from the vents on the dash, and the sound of rubber tires on worn asphalt lulled you into a state of semi-consciousness.

River watched you relax beside him, happy to drive in comfortable silence, as he drove you both back to the trailer. He’d driven this highway a thousand times, made the same stops and turns as he navigated to Joss’s place, but tonight, with you beside him, it seemed surreal.

You were faintly aware of your surroundings, as streetlights flashed across your closed eyes, their light subdued and soft, and you felt the rhythmic motion of the truck. There wasn’t a thought in your mind now, just blissful peace, a lightness you hadn’t felt in ages…

You felt the truck come to a slow, easy stop. River cut the engine, his hand coming to your arm and you felt him gently prod you back to consciousness. You straightened in your seat, looking at him with a sleepy, endearing smile. “Let’s get you to bed, huh?” he said, smiling back at you, his fingers finding your seatbelt release and freeing you.

You climbed sluggishly out of the truck, waiting for River to make his way to you and the two of you walked up the worn dirt path to the trailer. You glanced up at the stars as you walked, taking in the twinkling expanse above. The sky was clear tonight, and there was the faint smell of a neighbor’s firepit on the air. It reminded you of the nomad camp, of the Aldecaldos…

Your heart twinged a bit, knowing how far away they were now. You’d been planning to go visit them. Maybe it was time to make the trip, and soon. You missed them. You missed Pan. But you could never up and leave River, or NC… This place was just too much a part of you both. That wouldn’t stop you from visiting, though…

You continued to mull over vague plans to visit your desert friends, as you made your way through the trailer with River, tip-toeing past the kids’ room. You entered the bedroom, River quietly closing the door behind you both, and you lethargically pulled off your clothes, pulling on one of River’s t-shirts, and climbed under the covers.

River wasn’t far behind you, stripping down to his briefs and turning off the bedside lamp, and then you felt his warmth envelop you as he joined you under the covers and pulled you close, his arm coming around you, your back settling into his torso. “G’night, babe,” he whispered close to your ear, sending goosebumps cascading across your skin.

You turned your head to him and he leaned in to meet your lips, kissing you sweetly for a moment.

“G’night,” you whispered, your words swallowed up by the near-darkness. You relaxed into the mattress, into River, hearing his breathing slow in tandem with yours. It wasn’t long before you drifted off…

*** 

The smell of freshly brewed coffee eased you from your fitful sleep… You opened your eyes, finding yourself in the increasingly familiar surroundings of River’s bedroom. You were cocooned in blankets, warm, comfortable, and you stretched out in the bed, feeling the residual warmth on River’s side of the mattress. Your paramour hadn’t been up long, it seemed…

Just long enough to get the coffee going and hop in the shower, which you heard as you walked sleepily out of the bedroom and down the scribble-laden hallway. You glanced at the time, almost 0800. The trailer was empty aside from you two, Joss having taken the kids to school, then Randy to his therapist appointment.

The bathroom door was open, and you could hear River humming cheerfully inside… You walked up to the doorframe, your hands resting on either side of it, and you waited for him to notice you, standing there in your underwear and one of his t-shirts, looking like a vision from some fantasy he’d only ever dreamed of…

You watched River through the transparent shower curtain, opaque in parts from steam and water droplets, but you could make out his impressive silhouette. Tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular…

“Mornin’,” River greeted you, having noticed you darkening his doorway. He pulled the shower curtain aside to give you the full, spectacular view. Oof. You grinned at him, clearly having been caught staring. “Morning…” you answered, grinning wider as he beckoned you closer…

“Care to join me?” he asked, and you nodded, coming up to the side of the tub, and his warm, wet hands were on you in an instant, pulling the t-shirt up and over your torso, shoulders, head, and then throwing it onto the floor beside you. You could feel the spray of the hot water, misting over your bare skin, and the smell of the shower, of River… You shimmied out of your panties and stepped into the shower with River as he made room for you.

The hot water cascaded over your bare skin, and River’s lips crashed down onto yours, his naked form pressing into yours as the two of you became enveloped in steam and lust. It was going to be a good morning…

*** 

Joss’s trailer had become like a second home to you lately, complete with your own small dresser in River’s room, from which you pulled your outfit for the day and your stash of makeup. The bottom drawer, well that was full of work necessities. Guns and ammunition.

You finished getting ready, then found River sitting at the dining room table, sipping his coffee and scanning the daily news on the holo. “Lookin’ good, V,” he complimented you as you sat down beside him, your own cup of coffee and two pieces of toast on a scratched dinner plate waiting on the table in front of you.

“Thank you… Not bad yourself…” you replied, flashing him a playful smile as you took the coffee mug in your hands, feeling the warmth of the insulated metal beneath your palms.

The two of you ate breakfast together, discussing River’s plans for the day, all involving getting the space for his PI biz set up. You had just finished the last of your toast when a call came through the holo, one of your “employers”. You excused yourself from River and went into the kitchen. River kept drinking his coffee, but he could still hear you on the holo…

“What, you want me to dangle him head-first off a bridge or somethin’? That’d really make a point, wouldn’ it?” your voice was laced with your signature sarcasm, apparently lost on whomever you were talking to. “…I was joking. I’m not going to do that. I don’t do that shit anymore…” you continued, River still listening, curious, intrigued at this point.

“…No, not even for that much. No, answer is no…”  
“…Huh… Fuck… That’s… A lotta eddies… Fine. But I’m just gonna give ‘em a scare. Not gonna hurt anyone,” you stated, pacing in the kitchen. “…Fine, send me the deets… ‘Kay… Bye,” you finished, ending the call.

You walked back out to River, picking up your coffee cup from the table and downing the last of it. River was looking at you, his expression slightly amused, knowing you all too well by now. “Got a job?” he asked.

“Yeah… Gotta get going soon, actually. Gotta go ruin someone’s day,” you joked, but you weren’t really joking…

River nodded, getting up from the table and putting his arms around you, holding you in place as he looked you over. He took you in for a moment, his eyes scanning you, memorizing every detail so he could file it away in his mind. What you looked like until he got to see you again.

You felt his gaze on you. “What…?” you asked, smiling shyly for a moment. “Nothin’, just… Happy. Real happy. Y’know?” he replied, beaming down at you, and you beamed back at him. “Yeah… I know,” you agreed, and leaned in to kiss him.

*** 

Soon, River had dropped you back at your ride at the Sunset Motel. He watched you drive away, waving back at you as your hand fluttered at him, and then you were gone on the I9, off to get into the kind of trouble only you knew how to find. River didn’t mind, though, it was just who you were. You weren’t out to change him, despite his past, his baggage… He accepted you too, let you be who you were, unapologetically. He still didn’t know how he’d ended up with someone like you, but he was going to enjoy every moment for as long as you’d have him.

You drove along the highway, tangibly feeling the increasing distance from River, like a pull on an invisible thread binding your hearts. But you wouldn’t be apart for long, and as the Badlands grew more distant in your rear-view, you no longer felt like you were driving into a city of ghosts. You felt hopeful. Hopeful to build a new life for yourself, to honor everyone who you’d loved and lost. They wouldn’t have wanted you to be sad, haunted, fixated on your old life, on the past.

And so you drove, into NC, down the same streets you’d driven with Jackie, past the same old haunts, and you could swear that somewhere, somehow, he was smiling down on you.


End file.
